This would be the perfect read for a spooky season or if you’re looking for something with a little queer representation and a spooky and thrilling atmosphere. The author does such a good job painting the characters and the setting of the story. I was truly terrified at a few moments and the ending in this book is worth every minute of it.

Fascinating and gently edgy, The House is about Sadie, Fin and their two children and the night Sadie is assaulted. Escaping to start over they realize that not everything is at it seems. The attacker, Sadie's former client has found out where they are hiding and is on the way to finish the job.

A riveting, edge of your seat read!

Creepy thriller material, starring an adorable lesbian couple. It was a little too spooky for me, so I ended up having to read it in smaller chunks, but I'm well known to be a wuss.

Bold Strokes Books' usually blows it out of the water, so I suppose it was inevitable that something like this would happen eventually.

Like The Upstairs Room and The Little Stranger, this is a novel about a (potentially) haunted house. One of the most classic horror tropes there is, there's a hundred thousand minefields you need to be sure not to step in so your book is actually engaging, and The House manages to stand in all of them.

I'm not a horror buff. I've only seen a handful of horror films, and 6.3% of the books I've read have been horror. (Shoutout to past me's diligent Goodreads tagging that allowed me to do the math.) But even I knew exactly where this was going, and what the twists would be, and what every single trope was.

Here are some tropes I noticed, none of which were executed particularly well.

- Moving to a country house with vaguely bad juju but hell, it's ridiculously cheap!

- A child has an imaginary friend, called Koosh.

- The other child has psychic dreams.

- A journal of a Victorian inhabitant of the house is discovered, called Nathanial Cushion. Yes, Cushion, like Koosh, which of course does not get noticed by Fin. Because I, and most readers, am not as stupid as these characters, I noticed immediately. It should also be noted that the first diary entry Fin reads dates from 1888, which seems a lot like a very heavy-handed connection to Jack the Ripper. We get it, he's evil.

- The bad guy is the Baddest Bad Guy To Ever Bad, a misogynistic sociopathic murderer who is terrible in every way. Men like this do, obviously, exist; the issue isn't that it isn't realistic, but that it is boring.

- Fin starts to be angry and verbally vicious after moving into the house. Instead of a slow build-up, however, it comes completely out of leftfield.

- Fin finds a trapdoor. This is cliche enough as it is, but of course the trapdoor slams shut behind her. And of course this passageway is a keystone of the denouement.

- Fin's related to the Evil Victorian Ghost, because it wasn't cliche enough already.

The writing itself was... average. Nothing exciting, just something to hang the plot off like scaffolding, but nothing bad either.

You may potentially enjoy this book if you have lived under a rock your entire life and have literally no knowledge of horror tropes. Otherwise, you'll see everything a mile off and roll your eyes the whole way through.

Needless to say, I do not recommend.

I really loved this book in a new to me author. The characters and location really and to the story. I can't wait to read the next one. This book keeps you guessing until the end.

This is part of a multi-book review.

This is an impressive full length debut novel from Ms. Darry. The story revolves around Fin and Sadie, an established couple, and their two children after the move from London to an old country house – make that an old haunted country house. Sign me up – I love a good haunted house story.

I really enjoyed the way that Darry establishes a healthy and loving relationship between Fin and Sadie and, as the story progresses, how it slowly devolves. The normal stress and uncertainties of dealing with the after-effects of an attack, the looming threat of a stalker and moving from the city to the country would be enough to put a strain on any relationship but when Darry adds the malevolent influence of the house’s ghostly presence, the once strong relationship turns toxic. There’s a subtle build of tension as Fin falls deeper under the house’s influence, her thoughts and rationale getting twisted and darker by the day. This one doesn’t go for the jump scare or lots of thumps in the middle of the night to keep the horror level up – there are odd events and the children are drawn in as six year old Liam senses the innate danger in the house and three year old Lucy’s imaginary playmate starts causing physical damage. Overall a good creepy read.

Recommended

This is an impressive full length debut novel from Ms. Darry. The story revolves around Fin and Sadie, an established couple, and their two children after the move from London to an old country house – make that an old haunted country house. Sign me up – I love a good haunted house story.

I really enjoyed the way that Darry establishes a healthy and loving relationship between Fin and Sadie and, as the story progresses, how it slowly devolves. The normal stress and uncertainties of dealing with the after-effects of an attack, the looming threat of a stalker and moving from the city to the country would be enough to put a strain on any relationship but when Darry adds the malevolent influence of the house’s ghostly presence, the once strong relationship turns toxic. There’s a subtle build of tension as Fin falls deeper under the house’s influence, her thoughts and rationale getting twisted and darker by the day. This one doesn’t go for the jump scare or lots of thumps in the middle of the night to keep the horror level up – there are odd events and the children are drawn in as six year old Liam senses the innate danger in the house and three year old Lucy’s imaginary playmate starts causing physical damage. Overall a good creepy read.

I enjoyed the book but it had a touch of Amityville Horror about it so i could only read it during the day ! I was hoping the characters would make it to the end of the book in one piece and my imagination was in overdrive until the very end.

This book is outside of my preferred genre. I don't know that I anticipated so much horror since it was billed as a thriller. That said, I enjoyed the book for the most part. Usually, I read a book from start to finish non stop. While reading this book I found myself needing breaks because of the fear factor. Not over the top for most, but I'm not a fan of any scary stuff. But, the writing was good and I appreciated the normalized representation of lesbian parents with children. As one half of two moms with a 20 year old, it is wonderful to see quality representation finally happening.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

*2.5*

After Sadie Tate is attacked by a client, she and her wife, Fin, decide to move out of the city with their two kids. In a stroke of luck, Sadie and Fin are able to buy the house Fin fell in love with instantly. Soon after moving in, their son Liam starts to have nightmares about the house, and their daughter Lucy starts a friendship with a new imaginary friend.

Let's start with the positives. One thing I genuinely liked about this book was the mystery and the uncertainness of what genre the book is. Is it a murdery horror story? Or is it a ghosty horror story? I liked that until the end I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out. This might definitely not be the case for everyone, though. I also enjoyed the (lesbian yay) couple, but mostly when they were having issues. when there was tension, how their relationship changed with the house.

The book is told in the point of view of many different characters, mostly Sadie and Fin. I liked both of those points of view, however, I could not stand to read the other ones. One of the povs is of the client who attacks Sadie, Lance Sherry. I found him to be the worst. . . I mean that's kinda the point, but I seriously considered stopped reading the book just so I wouldn't have to get through his scenes. Lance is obnoxious, sexist, and just downright a terrible person, and again that's the point, but what annoyed me the most was how over the top he was. His thoughts, his actions, his entire existence was exaggerated. I could not stand him.

I found the writing style to be awkward and very odd at times. Not my cup of tea at all. It was creepy. but predictable. The last 5-8% was ten times more exciting than the first 90%. Things were introduced out of nowhere when it conveniently suited the story. I mean I know that's also kinda the point but most of the things felt forced. There are some things I'm still confused about, which happened right at the end so I won't mention them, but I'd like to get a clearer picture of what happened. I also couldn't connect to any of the characters. I mentioned before how I enjoyed the relationship between the main characters when the relationship wasn't great because it was when I could see them more. When everything was tension-free I just didn't care about any of the characters.

This book could've been a perfect 5 star read for me, but it just missed the mark for me. Many other people seem to have enjoyed, so if you're intrigued by all means give it a go. I'm not recommending it, but I'm also not *not* recommending it, if that makes any sense.

TW: attempted rape

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley & author.

The House is a paranormal / Thriller / Horror novel. This was a great, easy to read book. I"ll definitely read more by the author.

This is an impressive debut novel that is firmly in the psychological thriller realm. Highly readable and page-turning. This is a thriller/horror, but with some twists in plot/characters that make it fresh that are nice to see. The pacing of this was great and it read as a thriller should read, leaving you ready to turn the pages quickly.

#TheHouse #NetGalley

A bit predictable with a formula that has been done many times before but still interesting enough to keep me reading. The characters were well defined and the story kept up a good pace, while at times it felt a little formulaic, there were enough original concepts which spiced up the tale. All in all I liked it and I will definitely keep an eye on this author.

Eden Darry is an exciting new author with her debut novel having just thoroughly captivated me.
Sadie is a barrister in London and her wife Fin is an up and coming upholsterer and they have two young children Liam and Lucy. One night when Sadie was coming out of chambers on her way home she was attacked by a disgruntled villain whose intention had been to rape and murder her. Fortunately he was disturbed and ran off
Shaken the family decide to move away from London into the country and Fin believes she has found the perfect Claire for them.
With the villain, Lenny, finally behind bars are there troubles over ?
Super debut loved it.

The House by Eden Darry is a paranormal/horror novel…..a haunted house for the modern family.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bold Strokes Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Sadie, a lawyer, is viciously attacked by a potential client. A client who she refused to defend, because she knew he was guilty. Lance Sherry skips the country, but knows he will return, if only for a brief time. He has a bone to pick, and this time that lawyer will not survive.

Although the idea of moving out of bustling London and into the country did not really appeal to Sadie, she agreed with her wife Fin, that getting away from the “scene of the crime” did sound good. So when Fin found the house of her dreams, they bundled their two kids up and moved to the country. Unfortunately, the house didn’t really hold the same charm to Sadie as it did to Fin. Six-year old Liam didn’t like the house either, although three-year old Lucy seemed to be fine with it. She even found herself an invisible friend.

Fin seemed to change when they moved in to the new house. A much grumpier Fin emerged, one that neither Sadie nor Fin herself liked. Neither one of them really had control though. There seems to be more than meets the eye with this house. Fin feels an affinity to the previous owner, and the mysteries of the house itself, but is unwilling to share this information with Sadie. Sadie, on the other hand, does not understand why Fin is suddenly so mean.

Things are getting out of control, and they are going to get a whole lot worse.



My Opinions:
For a debut novel, Eden Darry did really well. This book had everything a modern-day horror novel needed. A modern couple, a haunted house, and a talented author to combine the two. The atmosphere was eerie and the plot held a lot of suspense. The couple went between love and hate, and if only they had talked to one another! And the reader just kept turning those pages. The book had a good pace, so it was a fast read.

I liked how there were two “villains” in the book. Both the stalker and the house contributed to the overall suspense.

Parts were dark and creepy, parts a little brutal, but parts could have used just a little more scare power, a little more paranormal activity.

Overall, it was a good debut, and I’m looking forward to more from this author!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the Arc. Gave me amityville horror vibes. Loved the Lgbtq+ aspect.

This one was a bit of a slow start, and I initially didn’t think I would like it much. But it picks up just before the halfway point and I ended up racing through to the end to see what happened.

I also really appreciated the LGBTQ angle to the story; I don’t see enough of that in the suspense/psychological thriller/paranormal genres. And a normal, loving couple to boot! It was refreshing.

Fairly well-written, and a nice refreshing take on the haunted house story. I’d like to read more by this author!

Warnings: attempt rape, violence murder

This was a basic new spooky house + young family = ghost story. It was kind of a mix between the Amityville horror and HH Holmes.

I didn't find it particularly scary but I'm hard to spook with a book.

It's nice to read about a family with same sex parents and that treats it completely naturally and doesn't use it as a novelty.

The kids were cute, I especially liked Liam since he acts like a little adult.

I think having the 2 villains makes the story slightly crowded, it probably have been better picking either the evil ghost or the evil rapist/murderer.

This a bit more family and relationship drama than ghosts but it was quick and easy to read and I enjoyed the story though it was sometimes predictable.

The House is the debut novel by Eden Darry, and I liked it a lot. The book is a horror/thriller/ghost story at heart, but with a side of romantic drama. I like the main characters, Sadie and Fin, who have a very real loving relationship until Fin starts to change...
Overall this is a well- constructed, well thought out, and well-written book. I don't particularly like scary movies or scary books, and never have, so I can't say I love this novel. But I did enjoy reading it more than I thought I would and there is plenty to love for fans of paranormal ghost stories. And it's set in London which is a bonus. Well worth a read.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I thought this book was definitely a good psychological thriller and it had me entertained throughout!